Few months back, Supreme Court of Pakistan suspended membership of some parliamentarians for holding dual-nationalities. The court’s decision started a new debate in Pakistan whether dual-nationals should be allowed to hold public office or not.

The 1973 Constitution of Pakistan clearly bars dual-nationality holders from becoming a parliamentarian. However, some politicians (mainly from PPP) have criticized the clause and have demanded that an amendment should be made to allow dual-nationality holders to become members of parliament. The ruling party has now presented the 21st amendment in the Senate which allows dual-nationals to contest elections and hold public office. But I’m not writing this article to debate on this topic, my purpose of writing is something else.

In Pakistan, no major scandal is considered complete unless the Faujis are made part of it. So, when Supreme Court suspended parliamentarians, people on talk shows & social media sites started raising questions about dual-nationality cases in Pakistan’s Armed Forces. Nothing new! It has now become a fashion to criticize forces and most of the people criticize without having knowledge of the facts. One such example is a tweet by prominent PPP member Farahnaz Isphani who claimed that many generals, brigadiers, and colonels in the Army have dual-nationality. But, before tweeting this ‘information’ she failed to check the facts.

What about all the generals, brigadiers and colonels with dual-nationality? Big threat to our nation's security. Media play your role.

These facts are clearly mentioned in all the recruitment advertisements of Pakistan Armed Forces. Each and every document of candidates is scrutinized before the final selection. So, no one can join the military academies (Kakul, Risalpur, and Omara) without surrendering his dual-nationality.

Now, the question that arises is whether servicemen can get dual-nationality after getting commission in the forces. The answer is plain no. No officer can leave Pakistan without taking permission from relevant GHQ. The officers are granted “Ex-Pakistan” leave only when military authorities are satisfied with the purpose of leave. Even in that case, maximum two months of leave is granted to officers. Moreover, the officer has to report to the Pakistani Embassy or High commission in the visiting country. So, no officer can get a dual-nationality under this stringent system.

In the wake of Abbotabad Operation, Pakistan Armed Forces (especially Army & the ISI) have faced unprecedented criticism by Pakistanis and from the world. What happened in Abbotabad is truly shocking and surely demands an explanation from the Armed Forces who take a large chunk of our budget. The Armed Forces of Pakistan are considered one of the best fighting forces in the world due to their professionalism and sacrifices offered in the line of duty. But what happened in Abbotabad has surely come as a ‘shocker’ for the nation who sees it’s forces as the last hope in times of need.

The way things have happened in Abbotabad, they should be criticized and analyzed. But the way ‘some’ people have gone to criticize it’s forces is beyond limits and totally obnoxious. Patriotism doesn’t mean stop asking questions but if you are going to come hard, ruff and personal then the consequences will be negative and perhaps disastrous for the forces and the nation. Army is not a political force so it cannot be criticized the way we criticize political parties or political persons. Actions can be criticized but national institutions shouldn’t be criticized. It’s a national army and it has constitutional protection. It’s a force which depends heavily on the support of its people to. The way it has been criticized is totally ‘unbearable’ for patriotic Pakistanis. Last few days have been very tough for the Pakistani nation and the Armed Forces. Criticism has poured from every corner of the world. Our arch-rival India taking advantage of this new developing situation has already sent an alarming statement. So, this is the time to be united to show our support to our forces. If we are going to throw dirt on our Armed Forces then our enemies are surely going to take advantage of the situation and they may cause irreparable damage to our security institutions! Making jokes or talking funny things and making them public are going to worsen things (Facebook/Twitter accounts of notable media-persons and political persons have posted such jokes and messages).

Great Muslim commander, Sallahuddin Ayubi rightly said,

‎”To destroy a nation or a country, one should create mistrust between the mass civilian population and its Army.”

We should not forget the scarifies made by Pakistani forces in the ongoing war against terrorism. It is also worth mentioning that almost 600 men (including top leadership) of Al-Qaeda were arrested by ISI and other relevant agencies. According to a report released in 2010, almost 3,117 security forces members of Pakistan have been killed while 6,512 wounded in this war. Even with this war going on, Pakistani Armed Forces managed to help their fellow citizens during the 2005 earthquake and 2010 floods.

So, being a citizen of Pakistan, Isn’t it our duty to defend our national institutions just like we defend our country?